Although the invention described below is useful for any type of event, it would be particularly useful in connection with a wedding. Therefore, background of the manner in which gifts are given to a wedding couple through the use of a bridal registry system will initially be described.
In a traditional registry system such as a bridal registry system, the bride and groom ‘register’ or sign up with a specific retailer, for example, a chinaware vendor or multi-purpose retailer, and then the couples select which items the retailer carries that they are potentially interested in receiving. Such a traditional registry system is set forth as a flow chart in FIG. 2A. In step 2, the event organizer, the bride and groom, register with one or more retailers and choose the items for a list. The couple then notifies their guests of their selected retailer(s) (step 4). Guests are then urged to visit the retailers and purchase their gifts for the bride and groom at these retailers (step 6) for two reasons: 1) to ensure that their gift is what the bride and groom need and desire, and 2) to ensure there are no gift duplicates, e.g., five guests who all bring toasters. Additionally, some retailers offer discounts if the value of the purchased products exceeds a certain amount. Once the event has passed, the event organizer visits the retailer(s) to collect the items purchased by the guests (step 8).
There are several problems inherent with this traditional registry system. First, the traditional registry locks the bride, groom and guests into a very limited range of gifts, as they must all be chosen from only the selection of the specific retailer(s). Second, the bride, groom and guests are also forced to pay whatever prices are stipulated by the retailer and cannot comparison-shop or ‘shop around’ to find the best price or value for the item they require. It is often the case that one retailer has certain goods at a lower price than another retailer but other goods are at a higher price and thus, the bride and groom, assuming they want the item and did not want to register at numerous retailers, would be compelled to place the item on the registry list in spite of the higher price. If they do find a better price at another retailer and purchase the gift at that other retailer, then the bride and groom may end up with two of the same gifts, i.e., someone else may purchase the same gift via the bridal registry. Third, the guest may not like the selection of the remaining gifts left for them to ‘give’ (or the cost of the remaining gifts), and yet there are no other obvious options. From the perspective of retailers, only one retailer, usually an expensive and established brand name with an established presence in the bridal registry market, will receive the revenue for the entire wedding's gift purchases, denying the market opportunity for smaller retailers, niche retailers, discount retailers or regional retailers.
The online wedding marketplace also has yet to reach its true potential in terms of sales and branding. For example, in a recent article by Cate Corcoran called “The Bride Wore Swag”, Corcoran notes that the upscale retailer Williams-Sonoma has almost doubled their total registry sales within the first six months' of launching their website. Their e-commerce division, which totals forty people and in other industries normally takes years to turn a profit, expects to turn a profit by the end of the first year. Although Williams-Sonoma's online registry follows a traditional registry format, the as-yet nascent potential of online wedding sales is aptly demonstrated through their sites' early success.
Arranging for gifts is an important part of the event. However, more important, is arranging the services to be performed at the event, e.g., the entertainment, and the goods to be delivered in connection with the event, e.g., the food and flowers. There is much room for improvement in the manner in which an event such as a wedding is financed.
At present, there is a total lack of integrated financial planning options in the current event planning and wedding planning markets. The domain of e-commerce is the perfect arena for such a marketplace to function because it can contain unlimited resources of information, options and opportunities. The Internet also offers efficiency and ease in organizing and coordinating the potentially very complex and multifaceted event planning and financing process.
Typical lists for wedding financing are quite complex. Consider a typical list, set forth in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1c. 
It would be desirable to attempt to automate the process of allocating, distributing and paying for the various items listed in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C thereby leaving the bride and groom and their respective family and friends with more time and energy available for things more important than worrying about who exactly pays for what at any given time.
Traditionally, in preparation for an event such as a wedding, often as early as one or two years in advance of the “big day”, the bride and/or groom create an wedding plan, describing their wedding location (for example, a beach wedding or a hotel-based wedding) as well as their budget. Their preliminary “Event Plan” is finished with a preliminary choice for the location, budget and other important details regarding their wedding. Such a traditional event planning system is set forth as a flow chart in FIG. 2B. In step 10, the event organizer, the bride and groom, create their event plan, i.e., a list of desires for the event vis-a-vis entertainment, food, location, timing, etc. The couple then searches for vendors who are able to bring their plan to reality (step 12). The couple interviews the potential vendors in order to find the best fit between their plans and the vendors' capabilities (step 14). The couple then usually selects finalists for closer scrutiny. Finally, vendors are selected (step 16) and a contract is negotiated (step 18), signed and a deposit is paid (step 20). Once the event has passed, the event organizer pays any remaining obligation to the each vendor (step 22), it being assumed that a down-payment is usually made to the vendor in advance of the event.
There are several problems with this type of event payment system. First, the traditional planning and payment method requires the bride and groom as well as their respective family members and guests to keep track of a wide range of intricate payment obligations as indicated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. This makes payments for events in general, and weddings in particular, subject to potential complications as well as possible conflict. The system as currently implemented does not offer event planners a systematic way to organize and collect payments and gifts, nor does it allow for new sources of revenue. Furthermore, the current system offers both event planners as well as vendors few informal options of recourse when obligations are not fully met (aside from proceeding with expensive and time consuming legal procedures.)
The event or service planning method and system is an invention in the arena of business methods or processes as applied to the realm of e-commerce, or Internet commerce.
As yet, there is a total lack of integrated event planning options in the current event planning and wedding planning markets. The currently available services seem to transfer highly inefficient offline or “real world” planning processes and translate them to an equally inefficient online version. The domain of e-commerce is the perfect arena for such a marketplace to function because it can contain unlimited resources of information, options and opportunities.
The Internet offers efficiency and ease in organizing and coordinating potentially highly complex and multifaceted event planning processes. For example, the potential efficiencies of e-commerce may be obtained by uniting all event planning processes and vendors into an integrated vertical supply chain. This arrangement would more fully utilize the potential of the Internet for this sector by combining the many vendors and services into one event planning “supermarket.” This has not yet happened. As discussed in detail below, it is the intent of the present invention to facilitate and catalyze such an opportunity.
Among the advantages of computers and the Internet is the quality of perfect memory. Unlike most humans, computers have perfect recall. Humans, on the other hand, have the ability to generate useful information regarding personal events that computers, even supercomputers, remain incapable of. So while properly programmed computers can generate interesting as well as useful economic or weather models, for example, humans are still much more adept at planning events like a perfect wedding, a beautiful home renovation an ideal vacation, or other service options tailor made to suit their own individual lifestyles.
Similarly, in businesses or other organizations where individuals process information or knowledge as part of their job, the information that they gather is typically collected from multiple sources and further processed in order to generate value for the organization. Much effort is required to insure that when the knowledge that these individuals have acquired is fully utilized within the organization. Otherwise, when they leave the organization, much of their carefully acquired information is lost.
The information and knowledge requirements that hold true for a business or other organization hold true for society at large as well. Individuals spend much time and effort in planning and executing events, yet much of the knowledge that is accumulated in the course of preparing for those events are lost once the event is over. Moreover, providing incentives to individuals or institutions to share information with others is also important. Existing systems for collecting and managing event related information are inadequate because they do not provide for effective submitting, accessing, updating, evaluating, and rewarding processes associated with event related information and knowledge.
Much of the time, effort and intense planning that goes into planning unique events and operations such as weddings, affairs, parties, vacations, renovations, marketing, advertising campaigns, and other complex human activities are lost since little or no effort is made to capture that information and knowledge for use by others outside their immediate company or organization. Each event may treated as a unique and custom occurrence, never to be replicated again, when in fact, much of the same time and effort to perform the same or similar activity is often needlessly replicated over and over again.
According to the present invention the disadvantages and problems associated with managing event related information and knowledge have been substantially reduced or eliminated. This is accomplished, in part, by the design of a novel digital tool.
Today's Internet pioneers have created a wide array of business designs from just a few digital tools. Each individual tool may be described as a general purpose strategic subsystem, or alternatively, as a “bit engine.” Just as machine tools shape and hone metal bit engines shape and home real-time data. Bit engines expand relationships and create value for customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders.
Among the major types of bit and engines currently in use are, customer productivity engines, e-learning engines, community engines, Internet marketplace agents, recommendation engines, and choiceboards.
Customer productivity engines connect customers to a company's IT applications. Productivity engines, however, often require significant customer sophistication and commitment. Therefore the customer productivity engine generally suits firms that sell high-ticket items to businesses or upscale consumers.
E-learning and engines provide online technical training and get customers quickly up to speed on a company's new products and technologies. Cisco's E-learning Center, which offers a virtual classrooms and on-line libraries, is among the most successful in this category.
Community engines that organize open-ended on-line conversations are among the most dynamic of these basic bit engines. Discussion threads are the prime example of its use in business applications. A discussion thread begins when a user poses a question on a specific technical or business issue and the engine records further conversations as other users respond with solutions and advice.
Internet marketplace agents are bit engines that firms utilize in on-line business-to-business marketplaces and exchanges. Web based markets, such as Chemdex and Plastic-net allow firms to reach more customers a strike better deals. A company would use the marketplace agent to conduct business on these exchanges.
Recommendation engines help customers choose from a variety of existing products and services. GE Plastics, for example, uses a recommendation and to guide manufacturers to the expanding array of products the company and its partners develop. Amazon.com's engine uses reviews by other customers to generate fresh book recommendations.
Choiceboards are best illustrated by Dell's classic “configurator” and may be the most important bit engine to appear on the Web thus far. Choiceboards allow firms to slash inventory and other operating costs while offering customers products that match what they want more precisely. Customer orders set in motion the wheels of procurement, assembly and delivery. Choiceboards also provide realtime high-quality data on customer tastes and behavior that is critical in fast-moving industries. Choiceboards work best for products made from modular components that delivered to smart, flexible supply chain systems. The engine also requires sufficient customer knowledge of the product. Therefore, while choiceboards would seem useful to great many businesses, they would not be a good way to buy many services such event planning.
As discussed in detail below, the service planning method and system as applied to event planning, takes the concepts of recommendation engines and choiceboards and applies them in a new and non-obvious way to the realm of event planning.
In addition, the service planning method and system as applied to the searching for and acquiring of e-services (such as an electronic home or “e-home” services), takes the concepts of recommendation engines and choiceboards and applies them in a new and non-obvious way to the realm of electronic services planning, thereby taking advantage of a key computer quality.
Among the advantages of computers and the Internet is the quality of perfect memory. Unlike most humans, computers have perfect recall. Humans, on the other hand, have the ability to generate useful information regarding personal events that computers, even supercomputers, remain incapable of. So while properly programmed computers can generate interesting as well as useful economic or weather models, for example, humans are still much more adept at planning events like a perfect wedding, a beautiful home renovation an ideal vacation, or other service options tailor made to suit their own individual lifestyles.
In order to understand how the invention functions in a unique manner, it is important to understand how the traditional event planning process works, for example, in the context of a wedding.
Traditionally, tasks are broken down into the goal setting stage (step 310) in which basic questions are asked regarding the type of wedding desired. Once basic questions have been answered in step 310 the process proceeds to the early planning stage (step 312) in which basic style, location, approximate date and time, types of wedding, and wedding budget are formulated. Subsequent steps may occur at approximately 4 months prior (step 314), 3 months prior (step 316), 2 months prior (step 318), 1 months prior (step 320), 3 weeks prior (step 322), 2 weeks prior (step 324), 1 weeks prior (step 326), and last minute preparations (step 328) with typical tasks associated with these times set forth in FIG. 1D.
FIG. 15 shows a flow chart of the manner in which the event organizer plans and organizes an event with emphasis on the process of locating, selecting, negotiating with and paying vendors.
The event organizer creates an event plan (wedding) in accordance with her objectives (step 330). She must then search for appropriate vendors (step 332), interview potential vendors (step 334), select the best vendors that meet her needs (step 336), negotiate with each vendor to arrange for performance, pricing and payment requirements (step 338), sign contract(s) and pay a deposit to the vendor(s) (step 340), and, if all goes well, pay any remaining obligation to the vendor(s) (step 342).
There are several problems inherent with this planning system. First, the traditional planning and payment method requires the bride and groom as well as their respective family members and guests to keep track of a wide range of complex activities as indicated in FIGS. 1D and 16. This makes planning for events in general, and weddings in particular, subject to potential complications as well as possible conflict. The system as currently implemented does not offer event planners a systematic way to collect, organize and integrate planning information, nor does it allow them to copyright and resell event planning information as intellectual property.
Furthermore, the fragmented nature of the wedding creates huge inefficiencies and frustrations for both vendors and couples, because for each wedding, the process of vendor-solicitation must be recreated. Each wedding becomes custom made event in which couples negotiates with between ten and fifteen separate vendors, services and retailers for an average wedding. Meanwhile, vendors are constantly striving to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. With approximately 2.5 million weddings in the US each year, these processes of vendor negotiations and couple searching are re-enacted millions of times every year. This amounts to a lot of woman-years and private energy that would be reduced and reclaimed by the present invention.